The goal is nothing less than that God may be all in all.
We were warned that the words "Then cometh the end" meant sequence, "afterwards", not immediacy, and now we see that there are certain things that must be accomplished before the end is reached.
The reader will discover that there is a background of war in connection with every phrase of the kingdom in Scriptures. Passing a mass of detail concerning the kingdom of Israel, we find that "an enemy" is present in the record of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 13:25,39), the preaching of the kingdom of God was associated with authority over the power of the enemy (Luke 10:9,19), and the translation of the Church of the One Body from the authority of darkness "into the Kingdom of His dear Son" (Col. 1:13) shows that the Mystery itself is no exception to the rule. The reign of Christ must continue until "all enemies" are completely subdued, and when this is achieved, the purpose of His reign and of His kingdom is attained. To perpetuate that aspect of kingship would be undispensational in the first degree, for it is evident from the teaching of Scripture that just as neither Priesthood, Temple, Altar or Sacrifice would ever have been introduced had there been no sin, so Kingship, Crown, Throne and Scepter would have found no place in the present creation had there been no enemy in view. The kingdom that will be delivered up at the end of the ages, will be the Mediatorial kingdom of the great King-Priest after the order of Melchisedec, who, it should be noted, appears on the page of Scripture when Abraham was returning "from the slaughter of the kings" (Heb. 7:1), a comment that is as inspired as the rest of the epistle, and intentionally links this King-Priest with war. Such is one aspect of the goal of the ages, the bringing in of perfect peace, by the subjugation of every man, that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28).
We must remember the fact that when the kingdom is delivered up, it is delivered up by the SON to the FATHER, but the goal is not that the FATHER may be all in all, but that GOD may be all in all.
We joyfully acknowledge that which Israel in their blindness failed to see, that the Messiah Who came from themselves so far as the flesh was concerned, and Who, according to the Spirit, was declared to be the Son of God with power (Rom. 1:3,4), was at the same time. "Over all, God blessed forever." To this the Apostle adds his solemn "Amen". May all who read and believe, echo that "Amen" and rejoice to know that one day Israel shall look on Him Whom they pierced, the One, Who, even in the days of Isaiah, was named "The mighty God," and shall at last say of Him: "Lo this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us" (Isa. 25:9). When the Son is made subject to the Father, the end is reached for which He, Who originally existed in the form of God, emptied Himself (Phil. 2:6,7). He emptied Himself of His glory by becoming man. He further humbled Himself by taking the form of a servant and stooped to the death of the cross. Because of this He has been exalted, and given the name which is above every name, and the goal of 1 Cor. 15:28, as well as the goal of Phil. 2:11, is that the supreme exaltation of the Son should be to the glory of God the Father. When this is achieved, the Son who is both Creator and Redeemer ascends the throne of Deity, He reassumes the glory that was His before the world began, and once more, as it was in the beginning, one God occupies the throne of the universe, all His Mediatorial titles Elohim, Jehovah, El Shaddai, Father, Son, Spirit, Comforter, being completely realized and fulfilled that God, such a God, the God of Creation, Providence, Purpose, Redemption, the God against Whom Satan dared to raise his hand, at last will be all in all. A great disservice has been rendered to the cause of truth by the quasi-philosophical employment of the word "persons" when speaking of the Godhead. This word "person" is the translation of the Greek work hypostasis, a word used three times in the epistle to the Hebrews. In chp. 11 no one could possibly translate the opening verse "Now faith is the person of things hoped for", the word substance being derived from the Latin meaning "to stand under" precisely as does the Greek hypostasis. Our acquaintance with the material world is mainly that of appearance; we do not get down to the underlying substance itself. So, in Heb. 1:3, we should read that Christ is "the Express Image of His substance," that is, He was "God manifest."
If we would but keep in mind the idea of someone acting the part of some particular character and speaking the words of the part "through a mask" we should have the scriptural symbol, as far as it can be revealed, of the One Invisible God, assuming at one time the office of the Creator, at another, that of Redeemer and Comforter, without befogging the mind and virtually believing either in three Gods, or denying the Trinity of the Scriptures. In the "person" of the Son, the humble God had played the part of Mediator, and when the glorious work of Mediator is accomplished, the "person" i.e. the mask, will be laid aside. At the consummation "The Son" will not be all in all, "The Father" will not be all in all, but GOD will be all in all.